They are Molly (guitar and vocals), Lena Jonsson (fiddle and vocals), Allison de Groot (banjo and vocals) and Brittany Karlson (double bass and vocals). She also met three other crackerjack musicians and formed the group The Goodbye Girls. While at Berklee, Molly studied with guitar teachers whose backgrounds were in jazz, blues and classical, so her knowledge and range expanded. She also won the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at the Merlefest Music Festival, was named Best Female Vocalist and Best Guitar Player by the Northern California Bluegrass Society and appeared with her dad on A Prairie Home Companion. That same year she received the Foundation for Bluegrass Music’s first Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship. She was awarded merit scholarships for music and composition to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She went to songwriting camps and workshops where attendees used prompts given to them to create songs. In high school, the music of Gillian Welch made an impact that changed how Molly viewed what was possible in the bluegrass realm. AJ Lee), and the Endless Ocean album in 2013. In 2011, the Tuttles self-released their debut album, Introducing the Tuttles (feat. When I was in middle school, I played electric music and punk,” she is quoted. “When I was growing up, I was exposed to a lot of different musical styles. Molly has always had an adventurous streak. Django Reinhardt would have been pleased. An early video of them playing a jazz/bluegrass version of “Lady Be Good” is astounding. The Tuttle siblings were hard-working and gifted. In 2006, at age 13, Molly recorded The Old Apple Tree with her dad, an album of duets. The San Francisco area has a thriving bluegrass scene where Molly received encouragement and support. Her two brothers, Sullivan (guitar) and Michael (mandolin) are also in the band. Molly also had learned banjo at this point. At age 15, she joined her family band, The Tuttles, with AJ Lee, another female bluegrass prodigy (mandolin). Taught by her father, Molly began playing guitar at age 8, and at age 11 played onstage with him. He relocated to Palo Alto, Calif., south of San Francisco, where Molly was raised. Jack picked up the guitar, then fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Jack was an Illinois native whose father played banjo. Molly Tuttle was born in 1993, the eldest child of Jack Tuttle, a bluegrass performer and teacher. Paul Zollo, American Songwriter Magazine “Molly Tuttle sings with the gentle authority of Gillian Welch, yet plays astoundingly fleet flat-picking guitar like Chet Atkins on superdrive.” It was a marvel to see such incredible technical skill combined with a sweet voice and fun, barn-storming songwriting.” Press accolades include: “Molly Tuttle blew away the unsuspecting crowd with her rapid fire bluegrass guitar work that would put even the most talented shredders to shame. In 2017, Tuttle was the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year award.” Molly’s Wikipedia page states: “Molly Tuttle is a vocalist, songwriter, banjo player and virtuoso guitarist, recording artist and teacher in the bluegrass tradition, noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and cross-picking guitar prowess. The official video of her song “Save this Heart” provides an example. Wow - that velvety alto and those prodigious guitar chops! I’d never seen anyone apply a banjo clawhammer style to guitar before. The two headliners read: Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice and … Molly Tuttle. There was one waiting for me when I looked at the artists scheduled for last year’s Long Island Bluegrass Festival. This latest impulse to confer monarchy status blossomed last year as I studied videos of artists unfamiliar to me while cataloguing the rosters of festival performers for our annual May festival issue. Sometimes, though, it’s an irresistible impulse. It seems fatuous to label anyone “the next big thing,” e.g., the “next Dylan” or “Joni,” or whatever.
0 kommentar(er)
